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Search engine marketing is a straightforward and high-ROI technique that can enhance any digital marketing strategy. However, a lack of familiarity with Microsoft Ads and Google Ads has had many marketers getting pay-per-click marketing wrong and fetching less than their investment merits. Here are some of the most common mistakes made by newbies and how to avoid them:
- Not formulating a strategy
When starting out, it is best to ensure you have a clear objective and a timeframe to achieve it. You also need to know who your target users are and where you are likely to find them. An inbound marketing company will help you define your audience, research them to know their common preferences, and create ads with those findings in mind. Make sure you work with a proven agency with experience in search engine marketing and a proper understanding, or your niche and its dynamics.
- Not geo-targeting
Even if your target audience is sprinkled randomly across the country or region, you may need to invest in geo-targeting if you want to appeal to prospects on a personal level. People tend to respond better to marketing content that speaks to them. Google will let you geo-target your ads by state and country, so you can mention your target users’ home states and cities in the ad header and capture their attention. This type of advertisement, according to Google itself, can increase your campaign’s ROI extremely.
- Failing to conduct keyword research
Marketing and keywords go hand in hand. You need to match the keywords in your ads with those in users’ search queries as closely as possible. At the very least, this means looking at your ads from the prospects’ point of view and trying to imagine what their search queries would look like. Most searches contain long-tail keywords or variations of the primary keywords, so try to include as many variations as you can.
- Not thinking beyond the ad
If people get interested in your ad and click on it, where will they land? That’s a question you should never ignore. Your landing pages are the bridge between the traffic source and your sales page. If they aren’t optimized or contain confusing information, the user will most likely click out and go on with random web browsing. A proper landing page should be simple and devoid of clutter and have a clear, visible CTA, directing prospects on the next move.
- Pulling out all the stops for number one
Every marketer wants to see their PPC ad at the top of search engine result pages for relevant keywords, but it’s not all healthy striving for the number one spot. While it will guarantee you more clicks and organic traffic, it will also set you back more money, which is not great for your budget. Ads ranking lower on the pages fetch clicks too and will cost you less.
Endnote
PPC marketing is a tested-and-tried way to increase traffic to your website, so give it a go if you haven’t already. However, while implementing it make sure not to fall victim to the above mistakes.
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